Over the last decade, California leaders have made tremendous progress on supporting kids in some crucial areas. They have vastly increased the percentage of children enrolled in health insurance and made paid family leave available for most workers. They have also invested in free school meals, committed to universal transitional kindergarten,…

At least 11% of California youth identify as LGBTQ+. These youth have diverse backgrounds and identities, but one fact remains the same: LGBTQ+ youth continue to face alarming rates of systemic and interpersonal marginalization. In a 2020 national survey, the Trevor Project found that 60% of LGBTQ+ youth experienced discrimination at some point in…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the closure of schools shone a spotlight on the issue of student mental health. Rates of depression and anxiety among youth skyrocketed, resulting in an increase in emergency room visits related to youth mental health. While children and youth were reporting the need for behavioral health supports prior to the pandemic,…

The "2023 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California" is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary services and supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty, undocumented kids,…

As of October 2022, over 53,000 children and youth are in foster care in California, including approximately 13,000 youth between the ages of 16 and 21. The State has an obligation to offer services and supports to help these young people transition into adulthood. The Independent Living Program (ILP) helps transition age youth currently or…

The "2022 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda" for California is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary services and supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty, undocumented kids,…

Employment is foundational to young people's successful transition into adulthood, yet many youth with lived experience in the foster care system struggle to obtain employment that provides a living wage. Youth with foster care experience typically do not have the same contacts and connections to employment opportunities as youth who have not been…

Young people across California are leading the way forward socially, culturally, and politically. They are organizing for racial justice, learning and working and caring for family members during a pandemic, and voting in record numbers. The past two years with the COVID-19 pandemic has been hardest on kids, particularly children of color, in…

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented uncertainty both within teacher preparation programs and in schools. While it has exacerbated existing and long-standing inequities in California's educational system, the pandemic also presents an opportunity to innovate teacher education programs and rethink how they prepare and sustain candidates of…

"The 2021 Pro-Kid Policy Agenda for California" is the comprehensive state-level roadmap to ensure that all children have the necessary supports to reach their full potential. California has an obligation to end systemic injustices that create barriers to kids of color, as well as kids living in poverty and undocumented kids, from…

In 2019, the California Future Health Workforce Commission released "Meeting the Demand for Health," a report that highlights recommendations for addressing California's workforce gaps: the state does not have enough of the right types of health workers in the right places to meet the needs of its growing, aging, and increasingly diverse…

In September 2020, local education agencies ("LEAs") in California adopted Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans ("Learning Continuity Plans"). These plans included key information on how LEAs were preparing to provide instruction, programs and services to their students during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Among other…

Positive behavioral health outcomes are affected by a variety of factors including social, biological, economic and physical environments. These social determinants of mental health (SDOMH) affect not only individual children but the communities and neighborhoods in which children are expected to live, play and thrive. The State must ensure…

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting school closures have further exacerbated the unique challenges that youth in foster care faced long before the pandemic and now put them at even greater risk of falling behind in school. Students in foster care are disproportionately impacted by school closures, since they often lack access to the technology and…

Too few children in California have access to mental health care services. For school-aged children, locating services at school is effective and efficient: school-based health systems meet students where they are, eliminate transportation barriers, and improve both health and education outcomes. Yet few schools in the state are fully equipped to…